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02/04/2016

ALWAYS BE WRITING

(by guest blogger John Montana)

Many times I hear writers say they are stuck or are in a writers
slump, because no ideas are coming or they don’t know what to write. They want
an original idea for a film that nobody has ever seen before. They want the
next great original idea that rocks the film world. Some of them will wait for
years for that inspiration for the next great film. Now…you might get angry
with me for saying this, or you will probably vehemently disagree, but I don’t
think this should be your goal. Of course it can be a dream that this happens,
but most likely the story in some form has already been told before. Don’t
sweat it!!! Really, don’t let it prevent you from writing. Just write… let the
words just flow out of you. Edit it all later. Write gobble-dee-gook, write
crap, write anything. Just! Write! You can worry about judging it after you are
finished.

When you are done you can go in and create a story that will inspire
you to film. Think of it this way… A sculptor starts with a huge block of
stone. This is your “gobble-dee-gook”. Then begin to slowly carve away the
stuff that you don’t need. Carefully reveal the story you want to tell. In the
end you will have something that you will be excited about putting on film. So
don’t be obsessed with telling an original story or have an idea that nobody
has thought of before. Because ninety nine times out of one hundred… its been
done before.

I make short films. I enjoy shooting them and making tcripts waiting to be done. I am using my shorts films to open
doors and to gain experience on the set. Period! 99.99% of short films will
never make money or be commercial. They are only a means to an end. A road to get
someone to ask you this: "Do you have any feature scripts that I can
read?" To generate interest in you and what you have written. So here is a
saying that I have come across many times..."ALWAYS BE WRITING".

Treat your writing, or other creative work with the same kind of respect you
have for your family doctor or dentist. Doctors, dentists... these people have
studied hard for years and treated their work with respect and care. So should
you. If you treat your writing with disdain and laziness, or as a lah-dee-hem. But I am not under any illusion that these short films will make my career.

I have 2 full feature
scripts waiting to be done. I am using my shorts films to open doors and to
gain experience on the set. Period! 99.99% of short films will never make money
or be commercial. They are only a means to an end. A road to get someone to ask
you this: "Do you have any feature scripts that I can read?" To
generate interest in you and what you have written. So here is a saying that I
have come across many times..."ALWAYS BE WRITING".

Treat your
writing, or other creative work with the same kind of respect you have for your
family doctor or dentist. Doctors, dentists... these people have studied hard
for years and treated their work with respect and care. So should you. If you
treat your writing with disdain and laziness, or as a lah-dee-dah creative
artist that will get to it "when inspiration strikes", then shame on
you. Because all you are doing is confirming to society that artists are all
flaky and emotionally high-strung...and that we are ultimately disposable as paper
in an outhouse.

Exercise:
For the next three weeks, set your alarm clock early in the morning and spend
ONLY 15 minutes each day writing. Something...Anything...Just write! Don't look
at it and judge it as being either good or bad. That is not the exercise. The
exercise is to try and create a HABIT of writing. Like you go to your job. It
is an attempt on your part to train your body and mind for just 15 minutes each
day to take your writing seriously and just write. And for those of you with
the excuse "I don't have time"... then here is another saying that I
really love. TIME IS MADE, NOT FOUND! - You make the time by prioritizing it
and writing. Simple as that!

John Montana is an actor
living with his wife in L.A. and has begun to make short films. His most recent
film, “Hungry” has been accepted into 24 film festivals all over the world.
Check out his short films at No
Title Production Films

1 comment:

THIS IS ME

I've been an English teacher for a long time now and a blogger for more than 5 years. I love classic literature, reading, theatre, period drama, art and that is what I usually write about on FLY HIGH and My Jane Austen Book Club. I'd love to hear from you! Leave your comments to my posts or send e-mail messages to learnonline.mgs@gmail.com.

"The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it. The first is easy for many: accept the inferno and become such a part of it that you can no longer see it. The second is risky and demands constant vigilance and apprehension: seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space."— Italo Calvino

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